The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-03-19
IDAHO.
A Very C0MRrehenslve View Of
the Territory.


| INC - 1CVGhWOGXO
Correspondence Portland Oregonian.
Idaho Territory was original,
created by act Of congress approved
March 3, 1868. Its area was ther
323,373 square miles, more thar
double the size of California and
nearly seven times that of New
York state. It's capital was Lewis.
ton. In 1864 Montana was organ.
ICED from it, and in 1868 Wyoming
was taken from it, leaving it it,
present size; and now Washington
wants the four northern counties
and Nevada is trying hard to annex
the southern part, and what will
finally take the central portion
cannot at present be told. Idaho
is 40 miles in length, and it's
width is from 357 in the extreme
south to 60 miles on its northern
boundary, embracing 55,OOO,OOO
acres, or $4,000 square miles, occu-
pying the vast basin north of Salt
Lake valley, and between the great
Bitter Root range on the east, and
the Blue mountains of Oregon ON
the west, making an area of terri
tory greater than the states of New
York, New Jersey, Massachusetts,
and New Hampshire combined,
comprising farming, grazing, miner
al and. timber lands.
THE CITY OF LEWISTON
Was founded in 1860 and was the
capital of the territory. At the
session of the second territorial
legislature, in 1864, the capital was
voted to be removed to Boise City,
but owing to prolonged local strife,
archives and officers did not arrive
at Boise City till late in 1865. 1t
is not known to certainty who
first named the territory, but Joa-
quin Miller, the poet of the Sierras,
is credited with that honor. Eigh-
teen million acres of Idaho land
can be classed as mountainous,
containing grazing and mineral
lands, and while the whole territory
is in the midst Of high mountains,
its average elevation is 400 feet
above level, while 5000 feet is not
considered very great in the Rocky
mountain country. Many points
in Wyoming, Nevada, Utah and
Colorado are 1000 to 5000 feet
higher than Idaho. Lewiston is
only $50 feet above sea level and
Boise City $500 feet. Of late years
many irrigating bitches are being
constructed in this territory, and
the loose soil is very productive
when water can be brought upon
it, and already large crops of grain
are being raised and fruits and ber-
rics are beginning to be introduced
in the lower valleys. Large tracts
of good agricultural lands can be
found in the valleys of the main
streams, chief of which are Payette.
Boise, Weiser, Long Valley, Camas
prairie and many others, while
nearly all the mountains are COW
cred with timber. The country is
also we'll watered, all the streams
emptying into Snake river, whose
source is over 1000 miles from
where it loses itself in the mighty
Columbia. There is no need of
any American ever going to Europe
to see the Rhine, or to find grand
scenery. Just come and see the
grand old canyons, rapids and falls
of this same Snake river and see
the mad stream hurling its waters
200 feet in one mighty leap over
the Shoshone falls. About thirty
miles above are the American
falls, where the waters fall some
sixty or seventy feet, while some
thirty miles below are the Salmon
falts, where there are a number OF
falls and rapid cascades. The
greatest fall is only about twenty
feet, but forming an impassable
barrier to the salmon; here, from
time immemorial, have been estab-
lished Indian villages, where large
amounts of salmon were caught in
trying to ascend these rapids and
falls. This territory contains about
100000 ACRES OF LAKE AREA.
Many of them are large enough
for steamboat navigation, and all
of them are clear and cold, mostly
surrounded by lofty mountains,
whose snow-covered SUBMITS sup
ply them with clear, pure water.
The largest is Lake Pen d'Oreille,
situated in the northern part, and
is a fine sheet of water, the source
of Clark's fork of the Columbia
river. and is 60 miles long and
from 5 to 10 in width. Lake
Ceur d'Alcne, some 60 miles north
of Lewiston, a fine body of water,
suitable for boating, some 80 miles
long and "a wide, and many smaller
ones higher up in the mountains:
surrounded by heavy bodies of
timber, or by high mountains-onc
of the finest is Lake Tahoma, situ-
ated away up in the sawtooth
mountains, near the source OF Wood
NJ. "A .1A:x.,Ic oe comm Q000